devi See GODDESS.
Devi, Indra (1899–2002) Western hatha yoga
teacher
Indra Devi was a highly popular Russian-born
yoga teacher. In her long, active life she established
a series of learning centers in several countries on
three continents, popularizing yoga among celeb-
rities and ordinary people around the world.
Eugenie Peterson was born on May 12, 1899,
in Riga, Russia, the daughter of a Russian noble-
woman and a Swedish bank director. In 1920
Eugenie and her mother escaped the turmoil of
the Russian Revolution and settled in Berlin, Ger-
many. She joined a theatrical company as an actor
and dancer and toured throughout Europe.
In 1927, she toured India as a member of
the performing troupe and remained there for
12 years. She married Jan Trakaty, a Czecho-
slovakian diplomat in Bombay (Mumbai), and
became a movie star in Indian films, taking the
stage name Indra Devi. She met many leaders and
teachers in India, including Jiddu KRISHNAMURTI,
RABINDRANATH TAGORE, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the
maharaja and maharani of Mysore. The maharaja
requested that she be allowed to study with him.
He accepted his first non-Indian female student.
At the palace at Mysore, Eugenie met Tirumalai
Krishnamacharya, a yoga master, whose students
included B. K. S. IYENGAR.
Devi, also known as Mataji (revered mother),
discovered her passion in life. She stayed in India,
studying and practicing yoga until 1939. Healed of
a serious heart condition through her practice, she
became an avid student. She followed her teacher’s
methods of HATHA YOGA, which advocated a unique
practice for each individual body. She studied
PRANAYAMA (breath work) and dhyana (MEDITATION).
She continued her studies in the Himalayas after the
death of her first husband. She adopted the name
Indra Devi for her persona as yoga teacher.
In the late 1940s, Devi traveled to Southern
California. She founded a yoga studio in Holly-
wood and taught many people, including celeb-
rities. In 1953, she married Dr. Sigrid Knauer,
a physician and humanitarian. They bought a
ranch in Tecate, Baja Mexico, which served as a
home, school, and retreat center for 24 years. She
traveled throughout the world teaching yoga and
lecturing.
In 1966, Devi met SAT YA SAI BABA, who pro-
foundly affected her subsequent practice and
instruction. She developed Sai Yoga, a system of
moving through ASANAS (yogic postures) with
spiritual consciousness.
In 1985, she moved to Argentina and estab-
lished the Indra Devi Foundation. She traveled
all around the world and included many famous
people as her students, including Gloria Swanson,
Greta Garbo, Jennifer Jones, Olivia de Haviland,
and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. She popularized
yoga and meditation in Hollywood in the 1940s
and 1950s and, through a series of books and
innovative classes, helped to promote yoga in
China, the Soviet Union, and Latin America. She
remained active well into her 90s, teaching two
classes daily. She died on April 25, 2002, at the
age of 102.Further reading: Indra Devi, Forever Young, Forever
Healthy (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1962);
———, Renew Your Life through Yoga (New York:
Paperback Library, 1969); ———, Yoga for Americans: A
Complete 6 Weeks’ Course for Home Practice (Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1959); ———, Yoga for You
(Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2002).Devi Mandir See MAA, SHREE.
dharana See YOGA SUTRA.
dharma
Dharma is a complex and multifaceted term in
Hindu tradition. It can be translated as “religiousK 130 devi